Transcript of GameCritics.com Podcast Episode 22: Scribblenauts, Muramasa, and Are games too hard?
Tag: Business
GameCritics.com Podcast Episode 22: Scribblenauts, Muramasa, and Are games too hard?
Do games need to be easier to attract a wider audience? Or are games too easy as it is? Where did all the hard games go? What role does culture play? Will "Autoplay" features reduce frustration or just make gamers lazier than ever? With your help, we attack these questions from all directions. Also: quick hits on Scribblenauts and Muramasa: The Demon Blade. With Chi Kong Lui, Brad Gallaway, and Tim "If You Lose at Candy Land You're Banished to the Woods" Spaeth.
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Topic and Game References:
- Gamasutra: Are Games Too Much Like Work? by Lew Pulsipher
- Scribblenauts
- Muramasa: The Demon Blade
- Sorcerian
Please send feedback and mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.
Sony unveils slimmer PlayStation 3 for $299
What the PlayStation 3 has lacked until now in its losing battle with the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii is a compelling price point.
That looks like it will finally change this September—or maybe before that. Sony has announced it will drop the price of the PlayStation 3 (80GB model) priced at $399 to $299 immediately. That means you can run out right now and get the current PlayStation 3 for $299. What interesting though is that in a couple of weeks (September 1st), you can go to you local electronics chain and get a sexy new, slim version of the PlayStation 3 for $299 as well. On top of that the slimmer version comes with a 120GB hard drive.
The Horror Geek presents: Afterlife begins in September—Resident Evil: Afterlife, that is
With news that a fourth Resident Evil film was in the works only being confirmed recently, it's pretty impressive that a shooting date has already been lined up. These guys don't screw around when they decide to make a zombie flick…
Production Weekly is reporting that the newest Resident Evil film, titled Resident Evil: Afterlife is set to begin shooting this September 28th in Toronto. No real details have emerged yet (although the film is currently slated for a September 17th, 2010 release date). We do know this much—the newest outing will take place in Tokyo. I figure it's safe to assume that Milla Jovovich will return, but that's not official at this point.
GameCritics.com Podcast Episode 18: Wii Hate Nintendo
Have we been too hard on Nintendo? According to your feedback, we have. We take a thoughtful look at the company, it's past, present, and future and offer our definitive stance on The House of Mario. Don't worry, it's not 60 straight minutes of unbridled hate. 56 minutes, maybe. Featuring Chi Kong Lui, Brad Gallaway, Mike Bracken, and Tim Spaeth.
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Topic and Game References:
- Nintendo Wii
- Super Mario Galaxy
- Wii Sports
- EA Sports Active
- Mario Kart
- Metroid
- The Legend of Zelda
- Animal Crossing
- Assassin's Creed
- The Conduit
- E3 2009
Please send feedback and mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.
When is Sony going to wake up?
The Times today is reporting that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has suggested that his company, the largest independent gaming company in the world, might cut support for Sony if the PS3 doesn't become more profitable.
GameCritics.com Podcast Episode 16: Post E3 2009 Special
Not even the Wii Vitality Sensor could measure the explosive force of our E3 episode. Press conferences! Motion control! Overpriced handhelds! And of course, games, games, games. It's the Internet's only source for E3 analysis, so of course you won't want to miss it. Featuring "Big Daddy" Brad Gallaway, "Horror Geek" Mike Bracken, "Canucklehead" David Stone, and "Nicknameless" Tim Spaeth.
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Please send feedback and mailbag questions to podcast (at) gamecritics (dot) com.
The Horror Geek presents: BioShock Movie drowning in sea of financial difficulties
I'm really looking forward to the BioShock movie for a number of different reasons. First off, I love the game to death–it's creepy, it's got an engaging story, and it was a blast to play. Second, I'd really like to see a movie based on a videogame that turns out to be good. I think this is the property that could give game movies the same sort of legitimacy that comic films now enjoy. Finally, I got the impression that maybe Universal understood the potential of what they had and were going to pull out all the stops to make a great movie. They hired an interesting director, Gore Verbinski, and they appeared ready to spare no expense in bringing his vision to the screen.
Two reasons why clouding is the wrong way to go
Don't get me wrong—technology is a wonderful thing. Seriously, I'm not the kind of person who wishes we could go back to the days of listening to the latest pop hits on wax cylinders, or who thinks that microwaves have killed the art of cooking. That said, a person's got his limits and there are definitely some times when things in the tech world just get going too fast.
Of course, I'm talking about all this newfangled "Cloud" stuff that's been going around. For those who may not have heard about it yet (and trust me, I'm sure you will) the gist is that some people have gotten the idea in their heads that the best way to take video games to the next level is to do away with traditional consoles as we know them. No more going down to the store, picking up a disc, popping it in your console of choice and enjoying with a slice of pizza or cold beverage. Instead, games will allegedly be run from a central server and streamed via broadband to a receiver box which will then send that signal to your home TV.
What Do You Think: Is OnLive the Future of Gaming?
Formally announced at this years Game Developers Conference, OnLive purports to be the first legitimate gaming-on-demand service. Games will be stored and run entirely on mega-powerful servers, and will deliver low latency, high definition video back to your television or PC. Major publishers including Electronic Arts, THQ, Take-Two Interactive, Atari, Epic Games and Ubisoft have agreed to deliver their games through the OnLive network.
We want to know what you think. Is this the future of games distribution, or does it sound too good to be true? Assuming the technology proves viable (and that's a BIG assumption) this could conceivably change the face of the industry, affecting brick-and-mortar stores, game prices, the used games and rental markets—everything.
Leave your thoughts and predictions here, and we'll discuss your comments on the next episode of the GameCritics.com Podcast.
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